Pair of Art Deco Lacquered Club Chairs by Léon and Maurice Jallot

A distinguished pair of Art Deco club armchairs by the celebrated father-and-son atelier of Léon and Maurice Jallot, featuring robustly architectural cubic frames in fine hardwood — most likely mahogany — finished in a deep, glossy red lacquer that accentuates the bold geometric silhouette. The frame is composed of broad, flat-panelled sides and arms that form a seamless box enclosure, the inner surfaces upholstered in cream leather, creating a refined chromatic dialogue between the warm lacquer and the pale ivory of the seat, back, and armrest cushions. Each chair rests on small bracket feet in matching lacquered wood, keeping the piece close to the ground and emphasising its monumental, low-slung weight.
This form exemplifies the Jallots' signature design philosophy: the elimination of applied ornament in favour of pure material quality — the depth of the lacquer itself, the grain of the wood, and the precision of the joinery are the sole decorative statements. The combination of lacquered mahogany and leather upholstery is one of the most frequently documented material pairings in the Jallot atelier's 1925–1935 production.

Léon and Maurice Jallot

Léon Jallot (1874–1967) was among the most pivotal figures in the transition from Art Nouveau to Art Deco in French furniture design. Self-taught from the age of 16, he directed the legendary furniture workshop of Siegfried Bing's Maison de l'Art Nouveau from 1899 to 1901, then founded his own atelier in Paris in 1903, where he became the first designer of the Art Nouveau generation to abandon floral ornamentation and embrace pure linearity as early as 1904. He was a founding member of the Société des Artistes Décorateurs in 1901 and exhibited at the landmark 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale, furnishing both the Grand Salon of the French Embassy and the prestigious Hôtel du Collectionneur.
From 1921, his son Maurice Jallot (1900–1971), a graduate of the École Boulle, joined the atelier, bringing an even more pronounced taste for Modernist sobriety, straight lines, and luxurious lacquer, galuchat, and leather surfaces. Together they worked for the Élysée Palace, French ministries, embassies in Poland and Israel, and several ocean liners.
Ref. Page 20, Art Deco by Alastair Duncan.